Where do souls come from

Where do they come from souls I mean

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Good question.

For thousands of years, Mankind has wondered at this strange "thing" called "a soul".
What is it? Can it be seen? Can it be touched? Can it be weighed?
Most philosophers, over many years, seem to conclude that the soul is the "spirit of life itself". That the living "being" clings to life, no matter what; even under immense suffering and pain.
Perhaps that is what a soul is; the instinct to "live"; and it is in every living creature.
It is obvious that a living creature can be "killed", but that life continues in one form or another. The "spirit" of Life!
Then, of course, the idea of the soul was instigated into many religions. (Especially the Spiritualist Church!) So that, now, hundreds of different beliefs claim to know what a soul is, and what its purpose is! And none of them really know!

It depends on what you consider a soul. As Brysing stated, there are many beliefs surrounding its nature and therefore a conflict of definition.

Many consider it to be the mind/conscious itself. At least that is the way it appears the ancient Greeks meant. The Latin word "animus", like many words in Latin has many English translations, but this gives a clue to the philosophy of the people--the very people that indeed wrote some of the most profound literature on the soul itself. "Animus" means spirit, mind, and soul. It can also be used in the context of being synonymous with passion and courage.

But on the other side of the world, you have the Eastern Philosophy, which considers not just what is within but what surrounds. And the "spirit" of the environment effects and influences what it surrounds! Things are not objects in the East but are a part of a much larger whole. It's the interaction of energy over individuality.

With the Native Americans and many tribal religions, "animism" is prevalent. This is the idea that everything has spirit. And in their case, spirit is life and it's commonly believed to be interconnected and intertwined with all of existence, especially existence of a similar or identical nature. You can access THE "spirit of" a particular creature, plant, etc through one of its kind. So by working with tobacco, you are not only working with the spirit of that particular plant but the higher spirit that governs that particular plant. Going back to "soul" in this regard. The life or spirit, although not separated can be dissected into parts, with each maintaining a different aspect of the individual, some even physical aspects depending on the belief system.

In all faiths that believe in souls, the soul is created by the Creator, whoever they believe that to be.

This thread has been moved to Other Paths from Misc Topics.